The 2026 Lexington Herald-Leader All-State Girls Basketball Teams are here
The Herald-Leader is proud to announce its 2026 All-State Girls Basketball Teams as voted on by high school coaches across the commonwealth.
Assumption’s Ashlinn James, a 5-foot-7 senior Indiana signee who recently earned Miss Basketball honors, was also the overwhelming choice atop our first team as Herald-Leader Girls Player of the Year.
James averaged 14.9 points per game in helping the Rockets earn their first 7th Region championship since 2008 and advance to the Girls’ Sweet 16 state tournament final this season. Her 72 player of the year votes among the 117 ballots cast by the state’s girls high school coaches far outpaced the rest of the field.
Joining James on the first team were three fellow Miss Basketball finalists who were their respective regions’ Kentucky Association of Basketball Coaches players of the year — George Rogers Clark’s Teigh Yeast, Calloway County’s Sayler Lowe and Sacred Heart’s Brianna Wilkins.
Taylor County freshman standout Kennedy Deener, the 2026 Kentucky Gatorade player of the year, took third in the all-state voting.
The rest of the first team went to a loaded junior class: Clark’s Kennedy Stamper, North Laurel’s Mariella Claybrook, Simon Kenton’s Brynli Pernell, Cooper’s Haylee Noel and Paintsville’s Kylie Kinner.
The Herald-Leader All-State Teams are based on coaches’ selections in a statewide survey conducted by the Lexington Herald-Leader/Kentucky.com. Players are listed in order of point totals based on coaches’ votes. There are three teams of 10 players, plus 20 honorable mentions.
Herald-Leader Girls All-State first team
Player, School, Height, (POY votes/All-State Points/Total Ballots): Notes.
Ashlinn James, Assumption, 5-7, Sr. (72/958/107): A four-star recruit who picked Indiana over in-state offers including Western Kentucky, James finished a six-year varsity career with 2,208 points. She averaged 14.9 points and 4.5 rebounds per game this season.
Teigh Yeast, George Rogers Clark, 5-9, Sr. (12/624/88): Yeast earned 10th Region player of the year and Girls’ Sweet 16 tournament MVP honors for the 2026 state champs. Also a track state champion many times over, the Robert Morris basketball signee averaged 12.2 points per game this season.
Kennedy Deener Taylor County, 5-9, Fr. (7/517/80): Deener has led the Cardinals to back-to-back 5th Region titles as their leading scorer each of the past two years. She averaged 22.8 points and 4.8 rebounds per game in 2025-26.
Kennedy Stamper, George Rogers Clark, 5-5, Jr. (2/506/80): Stamper, a five-year varsity starter, led the state champion Cardinals in scoring with 13.3 points per game. She is now a two-time H-L All-State First Team selection.
Sayler Lowe Calloway County, 6-0, Sr. (1/330/57): The First Region player of the year averaged 20.4 points per game in helping the Lakers to their first Girls’ Sweet 16 appearance since 2011.
Brianna Wilkins, Sacred Heart, 5-10, Sr. (2/275/56): A Marshall commit, Wilkins averaged 17.4 points and six rebounds per game as a senior and shared 7th Region player of the year honors with James.
Mariella Claybrook, North Laurel, 6-2, Jr. (3/246/41): Claybrook averaged a double-double with 18.2 points and 11.2 rebounds per game and shot 55.6% from the field in helping the Jaguars earn their fourth straight 13th Region title.
Brynli Pernell, Simon Kenton, 5-5, Jr. (0/206/43): The Pioneers’ leading scorer since eighth grade, Pernell averaged 17.5 points per game this season in helping Simon Kenton to its third 9th Region title in four years.
Haylee Noel, Cooper, 5-10, Jr. (1/205/36): Noel averaged 20.4 points per game for the Jaguars and has Arkansas among her college offers, which also include Western Kentucky in-state.
Kylie Kinner, Paintsville, 5-10, Jr. (3/151/26): Kinner averaged 26.9 points per game this season for the Tigers and has already eclipsed 3,000 points for her career.
Herald-Leader Girls All-State second team
Player, School, Ht., Class, PPG
Jaelee Knowles, Frederick Douglass, 5-11, Jr., 13.3.
Maliah Courtney, Elizabethtown, 5-10, So., 28.1.
Madison Young, South Oldham, 5-9, Sr., 19.2.
Charlotte McCurry, John Hardin, 6-0, Fr., 27.2.
Amirah “Tootie” Jordan, Sacred Heart, 5-5, Jr., 15.9.
Avery Morris, Allen County-Scottsville, 5-8, Jr., 28.2.
Maggie Simons, Nicholas County, 5-11, Jr., 23.
Claire Marshall, West Jessamine, 6-0, Jr., 13.1.
Taylor King, Rockcastle County, 5-10, Sr., 19.2.
Kennedy Lane, Daviess County, 5-7, Sr., 23.1.
Herald-Leader Girls All-State third team
Player, School, Ht., Class, PPG
Cariann Williams, Edmonson County, 6-3, Sr., 19.6.
A’Tylia Green, Henderson County, 5-6, Sr., 16.5.
Ella Buckman, Bardstown, 5-9, So., 21.6.
Jaelyn Jones, Ryle, 5-10, Sr., 20.4.
Allye Pennington, Franklin-Simpson, 5-6, Jr., 21.
Emma Holtzapfel, Notre Dame, 5-11, Sr., 12.7.
Kylie Alvin, Pikeville, 5-3, Sr., 18.8.
Gabby Karle, Ashland Blazer, 5-8, Sr., 15.
Breigh Jones, Grayson County, 5-7, So., 17.8.
Jaidan Koch, Calloway County, 5-8 Sr., 17.4.
Honorable mention
Isabella, Jayasuriya, Campbell County; Keziah Renee, Butler; Maddi Frohnapfel, Hazard; Se’Rae Bundrent-Palmer, Assumption; E’liyah Strode, George Rogers Clark; Lexie Combs, Breathitt County; Asia Carner, Dixie Heights; Ava Napier, Leslie County; Destiny Scott, North Hardin; Maci Maynard, Martin County; Kelbie Ford, Rowan County; Addison Terry, Montgomery County; Alanah Dubose, North Hardin; Ava Moore, Assumption; Piper Graham, Lexington Christian; Elin Logue, Walton-Verona; Mar’Ryah Carr, Pleasure Ridge Park; Debora Patrick, Allen County-Scottsville; Karlea Stanley, Johnson Central; Piper Cotham, Lyon County.
Methodology: Our annual All-State survey was emailed to 273 Kentucky high school varsity girls basketball coaches using their email registered with the Kentucky High School Athletic Association. Multiple attempts were made to encourage every school to participate. Coaches were asked to select their top 10 players, and points were assigned based on a player’s position on the ballot (10 points for Player of the Year, nine points for No. 2, eight points for No. 3, etc.), and tabulated across all ballots received. The top 50 players receiving votes made our All-State list. This year, 117 coaches participated, and all 16 regions were represented.
